Oregon Public School Transportation Funding - The Chalkboard ...

Fund Distribution
A district uses the OAR as a template to forecast what it believes transportation
will cost the following year and the Department of Education determines whether
those costs will be supported at a 70 percent, 80 percent, or 90 percent level as
prescribed in ORS 327.013. Once the calculations are complete, the district
receives those funds in the eleven State School Fund support checks.
Adjustments, if needed, are made in the May check.
Comments from State and Local Officials
The research team interviewed superintendents, business managers, and
transportation managers in six districts and inquired about the districts’ goals for
transportation, cost drivers, and the state’s finance system (see Appendix 4). The
six districts selected—Bethel, Crook County, David Douglas, Klamath Falls,
Lebanon and West Linn—varied in total enrollment, share of enrollees who use
school transportation, and the use of in-house and contracted transportation
services. Moreover, geographic, weather, and population density differed from
district-to-district.
Looking across the six districts, a number of common themes emerge.
• Student safety is the top concern of transportation officials and
their supervisors. While none of the districts interviewed had adopted
formal standards for its transportation program, rider safety was
mentioned first by every person interviewed.
• Student ride times are a key concern. Districts try to limit maximum
ride times to no more than 45 minutes in urban areas and no more than
an hour in non-urban areas.
• Parental complaints—or the lack thereof—are a key performance
measure. Officials said parents were quick to notice and comment on
changes in transportation services. As one superintendent put it, “the
minute you change the service, you hear from the parents. On
transportation matters, they show up at the school board meetings.”
• Fuel, special education, and unique geographical challenges drive
transportation costs. With diesel prices at near record highs during
the time of the interviews, the cost of fuel was at the top of the list of
cost drivers. Following concerns about fuel costs were mandates to
transport special education students and unique geographical
challenges. On the latter point, rural districts mentioned the challenge
of serving widely dispersed populations while urban districts noted
dangerous walking conditions that required supplemental routes.
Weather and No Child Left Behind mandates were not considered
major cost drivers.
• Some districts struggle to hire and retain school bus drivers.
Driver availability was a top concern in three of districts interviewed.
School Transportation ECONorthwest January 2009 Page 14